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Melissa Parrish

Vice president and principal analyst

As vice president and principal analyst, Melissa Parrish serves B2C Marketing Professionals and is a leading expert on social and digital marketing strategy. In her research, Melissa explores how marketers use evolving technologies and platforms to create and deepen the bonds between them and their ever-changing customers.Melissa has been quoted frequently in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Fortune magazine. She has spoken at hundreds of events around the world, including Ad Tech, Mobile World Congress, OMMA Global, SXSW, and Social Media Week.Previous Work ExperienceBefore joining Forrester, Melissa was the director of community strategy at Time Lifestyle Digital group, where she was responsible for community and social media initiatives across the network's 10 titles, which include Real Simple, Southern Living, and Cooking Light. Prior to joining Time in 2007, Melissa was part of Crayon, a conversational marketing consultancy, where she managed social media projects for brands like Coca-Cola and American Airlines. Previously, Melissa held senior product and community roles at Meetup, the world's largest network of local groups, and Bolt.com, a community of more than 10 million teenagers and young adults.EducationMelissa earned a B.A. in drama and philosophy from Loyola University, New Orleans, an M.A. in liberal studies from The New School, and an M.F.A. in dramaturgy and script development from Columbia University.